S1 Episode 12: Degeneration
by firebreathingfishies
Summary: The Doctor and Ashley find themselves with a small stowaway after a random trip. It's dealt with easily, but changes everything when the Doctor finds himself looking at a face he thought he would never see again and a temper he never wanted. COMPLETE!
1. Irrational Fears

**A/N: OKAY, change of plan. Most of you will be all 'Eh wth is this crazy biatch doing now?' but... well, the I hadn't planned the zombie story properly and there were a million and one things I wanted to change about the begining. So I've scrapped it, sorry to everyone who was enjoying/looking forward to it and I WILL use it for my season 2 so you will get a zombie story at some point, so don't worry. And plus, it was kind of screwing up my ending a bit tbh lol.**

**SO instead of zombies, here's the penultimate episode of series 1 :o I know, madness. One more to go after this one, and then I'll be on hiatus (for probably about a week or something) until the start of series 2. I hope no one's too narked by the sudden change, but like I said, you'll get your zombies. And hopefully in a better setting :D So enjoy!**

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**Chapter One**

**Irrational Fears**

'I don't like the sound of putting the TARDIS on random, Doctor. It lands in unpredictable places when you're steering!'

'Oh come on! It'll be fun! Don't you think it'll be fun?'

Ashley placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head at the beaming Time Lord standing in front of her. 'Do you even know the definition of fun?'

The Doctor grinned. 'I think I'm the most fun person in the universe.'

'And you know what the important part of that sentence was?' Ashley replied, her eyebrows rising. '_You _think. However _I_ think that you're an accident waiting to happen. This time you'll definitely get one of us killed.'

They were currently in orbit around a small, deserted moon that was up for sale at the rather reasonable price of thirty-two Credits, which was the equivalent of about fifteen pounds. Ashley had wanted to buy it, but found herself fifty-six pence short. And looking to the Doctor for a loan was like looking to an ice cube for warmth.

The Doctor moved around the console, tapping his finger on his chin and looking up thoughtfully. 'Well we could always just go and have dinner on Chappex 9…'

'Don't think I can't see you mucking about with that thing!' Ashley frowned, pointing an accusing finger at him. 'You think I'm daft, don't you? You're setting it on random, aren't you?'

Safe from her on the other side of the console, the Doctor grinned broadly. 'It'll be fun, you'll see! In a couple of minutes time you'll be thanking me for this.'

Ashley bounded around the console after him, but he was much quicker than her and she figured she was probably doing him a favour as he could now reach all the other levers and buttons that he needed to without having her blocking his path. After two complete circuits of the console, the TARDIS began to hum and grind. Ashley scowled deeply and stopped.

'I'm so going to mess your hair up.' She warned, pointing warning at him.

The Doctor's grin briefly faltered and he touched his hair, but then quickly grabbed onto the console again as the TARDIS began to jerk around, taking them into the unknown.

* * *

Ashley stood with her arms crossed over her chest, a smug smile on her face. The Doctor stood a little behind her, trying to readjust his now skewed hair and pouting childishly. The TARDIS stood behind them, door still open. In front of them, as far as the eye could see, was sand. Miles and miles of sand. And the odd rock. Nothing much else.

'Oh yeah this is so much fun,' Ashley smirked. 'Look at all the fun things we can do. Pity I don't have my bucket and spade or we could have made one _hell_ of a sandcastle.'

The Doctor stepped forward so he was standing beside her. 'Okay, so maybe it wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. It's been a long time since I've set her on random. I keep forgetting that the universe is about forty five percent uninhabited planets.'

Ashley turned to him suddenly. 'Quick, Doctor! Desert; one _s_ or two?'

The Doctor blinked at her, and then frantically tried to jump on the answer. 'Oh! Um! Two… no one! One!'

'Too slow!' Ashley patted him on the arm patronisingly. 'You mentioned something about dinner?'

The Doctor looked at her glumly for a moment, but then his brilliant smile returned. 'Well there's no point crying over empty planets, is there?' He turned and re-entered the TARDIS, hopping happily over the threshold. 'And I am quite hungry. I think a nice banana split would go down nice right about now…' He tossed his coat over one of the coral beams and then stopped dead, neck bent.

'Is that all you ever think about?' Ashley chuckled, not yet noticing his sudden stillness. 'Bananas? At least if I ever need to lure you out of anywhere I'll know all I need is a bag of bananas and some hair gel…' She trailed off, noting his paralysis and frowning. 'Doctor?'

'Sshh!' He hissed, half turning and putting a finger to his lips. He remained perfectly rigid, only his eyes moving and his forehead crinkling. Ashley listened with wide eyes. The Doctor finally moved again to point at the open TARDIS door. Nodding his head he mouthed, 'Close the door.'

Slowly, Ashley closed the door and mouthed in return, 'What is it?'

The Doctor pointed at the console. 'There's something in the controls,' he mouthed, and then carried on with too much emphasis on his silent words that meant Ashley couldn't understand what he was saying – or miming, rather. She shook her head and shrugged. He rolled his eyes and repeated the pantomime. He pointed at the console again, and then made the fingers of his left hand crawl along the air.

'Spider?' Ashley mouthed, alarmed, and then made a large gesture with her hands to ask if it was a _big_ spider.

The Doctor waved a hand at her and shook his head, returning his attention to the sound that only he could hear. Ashley strained to listen, but could hear nothing apart from the quite hum of the TARDIS and the sound of her stomach quietly grumbling. The Doctor shot her an irritated look and she only shrugged apologetically.

The next part happened quickly. Ashley's stomach rumbled quite loudly and there was a sudden skirmish beneath the console. The Doctor dived towards it, arms outstretched to grab whatever was about to emerge, and then just as quickly he stumbled back again, his hands raised up. He pranced around for a moment, leaving Ashley just looking on in bewilderment until she saw the black thing scuttling around on the floor.

'Scorpion!' the Doctor practically squealed, dancing away from the creature. 'I _hate_ scorpions!'

Ashley watched as the fist-sized black scorpion scuttled away and disappeared through a hole in the metal floor. Ashley jogged to where it had disappeared and tried to see where it had gone, but it had vanished. She turned and looked to the Doctor, to see him still bouncing from foot to foot and shaking his hands.

'I _hate_ scorpions.' He repeated.

Ashley smirked. 'You bloody great big girl.'

The Doctor frowned and pointed to where the creature had last been. 'They're deadly!' he insisted. 'And they make this horrible noise…' He shuddered visibly, and then finally managed to pull himself together. 'Well we need to find it because it could screw up the wiring. And plus I don't want it crawling over my face when I'm asleep.' He looked to her and nodded with wide eyes. 'They do that you know.'

Ashley glanced around. 'So um… how are we going to go about this then?'

The Doctor sighed and clapped his hands together. 'There's only one thing to do at a time like this,' he announced grandly, and then moved quickly to a small cubbyhole beneath the console. He emerged holding a glass and an old postcard. 'Resorting to extreme methods.' He said gravely, and handed them to Ashley.

She looked at the glass tumbler and the postcard, and then back to the Doctor. He had equipped himself and was now skulking around, peering down through the metal grate floor. Ashley sighed lightly, and then followed in suit.


	2. The Hunt Is On

**Chapter Two **

**The Hunt Is On**

Ashley peered underneath something large and complicated looking, and wondered how the hell she was supposed to find a tiny insect in a spaceship that was so big you could probably lose an elephant and not see it for weeks. She had already managed to get lost twice in the huge, winding corridors – once she was actually lost for nearly twelve hours and had stood yelling until she her throat was raw for the Doctor to find her. The worst thing about it though, was the fact that she had been only two turns from her room. The Doctor hadn't let that go for a while, although he did admit to getting lost in the library for over three days.

Ashley hadn't even found the library yet.

But back to the matter at hand – the scorpion could be _anywhere_. She didn't see the big deal about it anyway, it wasn't as if it could chew through the wiring or anything. Fair enough it was poisonous, but it was big enough to notice if it crawled over your foot or something. And if the bedroom doors were kept closed… well, it would be fine. But the Doctor was insistent on getting rid of it.

'You know what, Doctor?' Ashley sighed, sitting back with the glass and postcard still in her hands. 'I really don't understand you.'

The Doctor was halfway inside one of the work holes in the floor of the console room; the top half of his body hidden and his legs flat against the floor. 'Hmm?' he called back, voice echoing a little. 'What'd you say?'

'I said I don't understand you.' Ashley replied. 'You've been face to face with some damn ugly and damn scary things and one tiny insect charges you and you hop on the nearest stool clutching onto your skirt. It's just… ah I don't know. You're a total dodge pot.'

'It's not an _insect, _it's a carnivorous arthropod.'The Doctor emerged from the hole with a frown on his face. 'And I'm not allowed to have a little phobia? What about that time you came barrelling in whining about a little crane fly in the bathroom?'

Ashley frowned back. 'It was _following_ me.' She insisted.

'Yeah, because crane flies have hidden agendas.' The Doctor muttered, disappearing back into the hole. 'There's nothing wrong with having phobias. It's perfectly normal. Now people who are scared of nothing – they're the ones to watch out for.'

Ashley made use of the time that the Doctor couldn't see her and took a break. She rolled the glass in her hands and blew out through her closed lips. While she was doing that, the small black arthropod scuttled out of the place she had just been inspecting and quickly darted across the floor, heading right for the Doctor. She glanced around and suddenly spotted it.

'There it is!' she cried, scrambling to her feet. 'I see it!'

The Doctor looked up in alarm and saw it heading right for him. He lost his balance, and all of him tumbled down into the hole. The scorpion disappeared over the side with him. There was a lot of scuffling, and then the sound of the Doctor crying out. Ashley reached the side and looked over, unable to stop herself smirking at the sight of him wedged uncomfortably in the hole.

'Don't just stand there!' he cried, clutching his hand. 'Get after it!'

Ashley looked around. 'Where did it go?'

'I don't know! It stung me!'

'It stung you? Where?'

'It doesn't matter,' the Doctor replied in annoyance, trying to push himself out of his awkward position. 'Just find it!'

Ashley glanced up and saw it scuttling away across the floor. Her face dropped when she realised the door to the rest of the TARDIS was open ever so slightly. She cursed, knowing it was her who left it open, and bounded after it. Thankfully, all the other doors in the corridor were closed, so it only had one way to go. She slammed the door shut behind her so it wouldn't slip back into the console room to torment the Doctor any further and she hurried after it, surprised at its speed.

She was just about to pounce, glass and postcard at the ready, when it suddenly stumbled drunkenly to the right, then to the left, before coming to a stop. Ashley stood over it for a moment, confused.

'What are you, playing dead?' she mumbled. She nudged it with her toe. 'Okay, maybe you are dead.' She knelt down and placed the glass over it. It was a tight fit, but she managed. With the postcard slipped beneath, she raised it to get a closer look. She frowned at the strange clear substance that dripped from its stinger.

'I thought it was only bees that died after they stung people.' She mumbled. 'Poor thing. Did that nasty Doctor scare you to death?'

She tutted and stood up, ready to tell the Doctor off when she got back to the console room.

* * *

The Doctor hauled himself out of the hole and lay on the floor, wincing at the pain in his back and the throbbing sensation in the back of his hand. He raised it to his face and frowned at the red, swollen lump.

'Scorpions,' he muttered. 'Hate them.'

He hoped Ashley had got it because he really didn't want to chase it around any longer. He could feel the poison that it had injected racing through his system but for some strange reason, it didn't feel bad. If anything it felt… well, it felt like a bit of a boost. He pushed himself to his feet and prodded at the lump before putting it to his mouth and sucking on the wound. It was probably just a baby, he assumed. Its poison probably wasn't all that effective yet. Or maybe it wasn't poisonous at all. If it were surely he would have had some kind of reaction by now-

An all too familiar feeling rushed over him and he doubled over with a groan. He was suddenly aware of every part of him, every single cell, every fibre of his being. He could feel the change already, but it couldn't be. It was impossible. This couldn't be happening…

He looked at his wounded hand. His veins glowed beneath the surface of his skin. The redness of the sting seemed to fade away, the lump vanishing. He cried out as he felt his whole genetic makeup shifting, his muscles altering.

But something wasn't right. It never felt like this before. It felt… wrong. He cried out again as his skin felt like it was stretching. Something was definitely wrong. Regeneration was sometimes painful but that was normally due to the thing that was killing him. He could actually _feel_ himself changing. He could _feel_ his bones shifting, his muscles shifting, his skin stretching. His cries turned into a scream and the room flooded with orange, glittering light.

At the sound of the Doctor's screams Ashley dropped the dead scorpion, causing the glass to shatter on the floor. She raced to the door and hauled it open, immediately greeted with the blinding orange light. She covered her face with her arms and then tried to peer past them. The light was too bright.

'Doctor!' she yelled. 'Doctor where are you?'

The light died away quickly and very suddenly. For a few moments she saw nothing but glowing shapes but she blinked them away rapidly and blundered forward into the console room. The Doctor was on all fours facing away from her, his head tucked away so she couldn't see it. She slowed and frowned, knowing there was something different about him but unable to put her finger on it. She approached warily.

'Doctor?' she said. 'Are you okay?'

He groaned, but it wasn't his groan. It didn't sound like him at all. At the same time she noticed what was different. He was bigger. Not taller, but broader. His pinstripe suit was tighter across his back. She circled him, keeping a wide berth.

'Doctor?'

The stranger looked up at her, face red and strained. His dark hair was cut close to his head, making his ears the most prominent part of his features – along with his slightly large nose and wide blue eyes. He reached out for her and she backed away a full three steps.

'Ashley…' he croaked. 'Ashley help me…'

Then he slumped on his face, unconscious.


	3. The Rudeness of Strangers

**A/N: The main worry I had about this story was keeping the characters in character, so I hope they're okay. My loverly beta-reader Gracie O'Malley said it was fine, so I believe her :P**

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**Chapter Three **

**The Rudeness of Strangers**

For about ten minutes Ashley had done nothing but stare at the unconscious man on the floor of the TARDIS, wondering who he was, where he had come from and why the hell he was wearing the Doctor's clothes. And more importantly, where the Doctor was. Realising that the man was obviously not going to wake up anytime soon and unsure what she would do when he _did_ wake up, she decided to put him somewhere a bit more comfortable. She dragged him by his hands out of the console room, past the dead scorpion that lay amongst the shards of glass, and into her room. She only chose her room because it was the nearest. In all honestly she didn't want him in there at all, but he was heavy.

It took all her strength to lift him onto the bed. After he was successfully there with his head on the pillow, she had to sit down and have a rest. She puffed for a little while, and then glanced unsurely back to the man. She wondered if he was dangerous.

_Of course he's dangerous_, she thought. _He's obviously done something to the Doctor. Killed him, probably. Although I didn't think I was gone long enough for him to switch clothes like that… And that orange light…_

'That's not helping…' she muttered, cutting off her train of thoughts that did nothing but unsettle her further. She stood by the bed, mulling over her options, and then decided that she didn't like the idea that the man would be able to get up when he finally woke. She pulled off her belt and proceeded to tie his hands to the headboard. With that job done, she stood back and waited for him to wake up.

* * *

Another ten minutes passed and Ashley was now quite deeply worried. The man on the bed hadn't moved at all and there was no sign of the Doctor anywhere. She wanted to go and check his pulse but she was frightened to approach. Maybe he was just playing dead? Waiting for her to approach so he could snap her neck with his legs or something.

Okay that was a bit far fetched… but still…

Finally she decided that she would have to. If she stood here much longer she would either burst into tears or faint. She approached the bed tentatively. She hesitated, and then stooped a little closer.

'Hello?' she whispered, and then moved back quickly.

The man didn't move.

She leaned closer this time. 'Hello-o?' she repeated.

Still no movement.

Ashley swallowed hard and licked her lips, trying to summon up all her bravery. It didn't work. She reached out with one trembling hand towards his neck. Her fingers touched his skin, and then he awoke with a jerk.

'Argh!' Ashley yelled, tripping over her feet and falling hard on her backside. She scrambled back until she hit the back wall, her heart threatening to burst right out of her chest.

The man on the bed looked around in alarm and then tried to sit up. He seemed bewildered by his inability too and then looked at the belt. He blinked at it, and then looked at Ashley. 'What the hell is this?' he demanded in a Northern accent.

Ashley just blinked at him.

'What's the matter with you?' the man frowned. 'Are you thick or something? Untie that belt!'

Ashley slowly got to her feet. 'Who are you?' she frowned. 'Where's the Doctor?'

The man blinked at her, frowning. 'What? Ashley Chambers, you completely lose me sometimes. Get me off this bed. Did you get that scorpion?'

Ashley wasn't sure what to do. Surely this man didn't think she would believe he was the Doctor? He looked nothing like him! She shook her head, laughing nervously. 'I'm not stupid. You're not the Doctor.'

The man looked at her incredulously. 'Yes, I am. And I should know, I've been the Doctor for over nine hundred years now. Now untie me!'

'No. Nu-uh. I know what's going on here.' She pointed at him accusingly. 'You're another one of those shapeshifter thingies aren't you? Well I'm not falling for that again. Plus you got his face all wrong. Where's the real Doctor?' She didn't give him a chance to answer as a new theory reached her. 'No! No I know! It was a teleporter thing, that light! It's switched you with the Doctor to try and convince me that you're the Doctor when you're really…' She trailed off, realising that it was probably quite a stupid theory.

The man sighed in exasperation and lay back on the pillow. 'Look, Ashley, I'm really very tired and I can't be bothered to…' He trailed off. His eyes narrowed at the ceiling. He sat up again sharply and stared at her. 'What do I look like?'

Ashley frowned. 'What kind of stupid arse question is that?' she blurted. 'You look like… I dunno! Some bloke! With… um… a face – oh I don't know!'

The man frowned. 'Well at least we all know who would win the award for widest vocabulary.' He muttered. 'Get me a mirror.'

She just stared at him, unable to fathom out what was going on. Was he trying to freak her out? Make her drop her guard? She began to shake her head.

'Get me a mirror!' the man roared. 'Come on! A monkey could do it faster! Although to be honest I preferred you lot when you were monkeys!'

The sharpness of his voice got her moving and she hurried towards her dressing table. She plucked up her small, hand held Betty Boop mirror and approached the bed. She stopped a little away from it, frowning warily at him.

'Come on, come on!' he insisted. 'Let me see.'

'You're not going to grab me or anything, are you?' she asked. 'Because I won't hesitate to singe all your hair off.'

The man rolled his eyes and jerked his head towards the mirror. 'Now!' he demanded.

Ashley held the mirror in front of him. He bobbed his head around, trying to find it in the mirror. Ashley knew when he had, because his expression turned into one of complete disbelief. He blinked, and then looked up at her.

'Do I have big ears?' he asked.

Ashley winced. 'Well… I uh… They're not _huge_…'

'This is impossible…' the man murmured. 'This has never happened before. Recycling regenerations? That's just tacky. And especially one as recent as this…'

Ashley frowned and snapped the mirror shut. 'Would you care to tell me what the hell is going on? Where's the Doctor?'

'I told you, _I'm_ the Doctor.' The man replied. 'The sting of the scorpion…' He trailed off, frowning in thought. 'I can't remember what happened properly…'

'Well you better hurry up and start remembering!' Ashley scowled. 'Because I'm not very bloody happy here! What the hell are regenerations anyway?'

The man looked at her like she had just asked him what toes are for. 'Can you give me a minute please? Things tend to get a little… mixed up for a while…' He pulled stubbornly at the belt. 'And will you please get this thing off? I don't know why you're so worried. If I did anything you could always just have a go at turning me into an overcooked turkey. Again.'

Ashley frowned slightly. He was right, but she still didn't trust him. She hesitated, ignoring his impatient sighs and _tuts_ and finally reached forward and undid the belt. She hopped back as soon as it was free and readied herself for whatever was to happen next.

'Thank you,' the man sighed bitterly, sitting up and rubbing his wrists. He looked down at himself and scowled. 'Oh this regeneration so doesn't suit these clothes.' He hopped up out of the bed, and then staggered unsteadily to the left. He caught himself on the wall and shook his head, blinking. 'Okay, too much moving much too fast.' He continued forward, unsteady on his feet, and left the room.

'Oi!' Ashley called after him, hopping over the bed. 'Where do you think you're going?'

She looked out the door and saw him heading down the corridor, using the wall for support and walking awkwardly in the tight suit. 'Pardon me if I want to find something to wear that I can actually _move_ in.' he shot at her.

Ashley frowned and chased after him. She walked along side him, keeping a gap between them and studied him as close as she could from that distance. 'Are you going to tell me what's going on at all?' she asked.

'Give me a minute,' the man snapped. 'I hate it just after a regeneration and everyone's all '_Oooh who are you? Where's the Doctor?'_ I'd love just for once to be able to get on with it without all the fuss. I hate fuss. There's too much of it if you ask me.'

Ashley just stared at him in bewilderment. They carried on down the corridor until they came to the double doors and led down into the vast closet. The man went through the doors and started to close them behind him, but Ashley stuck her hand in the gap.

'You're not leaving my sight, mister.' She frowned.

The man frowned back. 'Well I am going to be naked in a little while. I'd like a bit privacy if that's okay with you. It is? Fantastic.' He shut the door in her face. All she could do was blink stupidly at it, and then wait for him to come back.


	4. The Relapser

**Chapter Four **

**The Relapser**

The man finally emerged after twenty minutes or so, dressed in dark trousers and a black jumper. He was pulling on a leather jacket as he pulled the door shut behind him, looking a lot less grumpy than he did when he first went inside. He grinned broadly at Ashley. She recognised something in the grin, but she still just frowned back at him.

'You're not the only one who was taken by surprise you know,' the man, or the Doctor rather, told her as he headed back down the corridor towards the console room. 'I didn't expect a tiny scorpion sting to do this. Although you'd think I'd have learned not to underestimate things like that. I mean, I was nearly killed by a giant clam once.'

'You're not making any sense.' Ashley told him, only expressing what her aching brain thought.

'I probably won't for a while,' the Doctor told her with an even broader grin. 'I don't think I ever make sense to be honest with you. What's the point of sense anyway? We should just do away with it. The Universe would be a much better place without all these laws of physics and the like. Although they don't really make much sense anyway… At least _your_ lot's version doesn't make any sense. I mean really… Dynamical simulation? Euler's equations? Jibberish.' He frowned suddenly and rubbed his stomach. 'God I'm hungry. When was the last time I ate?'

Ashley stared at him. 'How the hell should I know?'

'Oh right,' the strange Doctor rolled his eyes. 'You still think I'm someone else don't you? Well how about this?' He turned to face her. 'Your name is Ashley Chambers, you're twenty-two and live with a frankly brain killingly irritating man called Manny. On your first trip in the TARDIS we went and got chips, which was nice… well I had chips, you just sulked.'

Ashley just frowned at him.

'Not enough?' the Doctor asked with a sigh. 'Okay then. Um…' He pointed at her boots. 'You have to check your boots every morning and night, and have done ever since a little boy at your school filled your PE shoes with worms and slugs.'

Ashley flinched and looked down at her feet. Her cheeks flushed red. 'I do not.'

'And don't think I didn't see you yesterday pretending to fly the TARDIS.'

She flushed even redder. 'I did not!'

The Doctor smirked at her, and then carried on walking down the corridor, smiling happily.

'Okay, okay,' Ashley muttered, hurrying after him. 'So let's say you _are_ the Doctor-'

The Doctor cocked his head, still smiling happily. 'I _am_ the Doctor.'

Ashley waved a hand at him. 'How come you don't _look_ like him anymore? I mean… you're older for one thing.'

The Doctor looked at her impatiently. 'I'm exactly the same age. As a matter of fact, this regeneration was younger.'

'Whatever,' Ashley closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to clear it. 'I take it that's what a regeneration is then? You change?'

The Doctor nodded. 'It's a process that Time Lords undergo when they're about to die. Think of it as a way of cheating death.'

'So instead of dying… You just change into someone else?'

'Well… yes. Although I'm still me.'

Ashley thought about this for a moment, and then decided she didn't like thinking about it. 'So basically you can't die? At all?'

'Oh no,' the Doctor shook his head and frowned. 'I've died a couple of times. The weird thing is that I haven't actually died, _recently._ Meaning I shouldn't have regenerated at all. Although I didn't _re_generate, I _de_generated. I've already had this mug before.'

'Then why did you regenerate? Or degenerate, rather.'

The Doctor looked to her, grinning, and shrugged. 'I don't know.'

'What do you mean, you don't know?' Ashley frowned.

'I mean, I don't know.' He replied, jovially.

Ashley stopped, her brain actually having to sever all connections with the rest of her body so she could process all of the information she had just received. The Doctor continued down the corridor, whistling happily. He skipped over the mess of broken glass, actually clicking his heels together, and disappeared into the console room. Ashley finally pulled herself together and ran after him.

'Now hold on just a minute,' she said, bursting into the console room. 'I still don't understand what the heck's just happened.'

The Doctor sighed in exasperation and thumped his head twice off the edge of the console. 'Humans…' he grumbled. He then straightened up and swept a hand over his head. He frowned, and did it again. 'Oh… my hair's gone.' He looked mildly disappointed.

'So you've changed into a completely different person.' Ashley said, trying to organize her thoughts. 'Because you were stung by the scorpion.'

The Doctor nodded. 'That's right.'

'And you've done this… how many times before?'

'Ten.' The Doctor nodded. 'The sixth one was the worst. God that curly hair…'

'So you've died ten times before?'

'Around about.' The Doctor confirmed. 'Have I not told you that before?'

Ashley shook her head, spluttering. 'No! I think I would have remembered!'

'Oh right,' the Doctor shrugged. 'Must have slipped my mind.' He turned to the console and began pushing buttons and pulling levers.

'Then shouldn't you look at the scorpion?' Ashley said, pointing back to the corridor behind her. 'It died just after it stung you. I'm pretty sure they don't do that. And you've already said your regeneration was unexpected.' She waved her hand to emphasise her point.

The Doctor looked at her for a moment. 'It died?' he asked, then frowned slightly. 'That is strange.'

'I think strange is an understatement for what's going on in here.'

The Doctor swept past her quickly, and Ashley felt a sudden chill. Not only did he look different, he _smelled_ different. He smelled faintly of Old Spice. She hesitated before following him. She found him squatting beside the shattered glass, holding the scorpion by its tail and examining it closely.

'I see in your change you've overcome your girly fear,' she said with a raised eyebrow.

The Doctor looked at her indifferently. 'Well it's dead now. What's there to be afraid of?'

'It's not a regular scorpion then.' Ashley decided that focusing her thoughts on the scorpion might give her brain a rest from trying to understand what had happened in the last hour or so. It helped a little, but her head still throbbed.

'Nope.' The Doctor replied, standing up. 'For starters, it's got ten legs.' He dangled it in her face and she backed up with a strangled cry.

'Don't do that!' She scowled.

'Why not?' the Doctor grinned. 'It's dead. Not going to hurt you.' He wiggled it at her again.

'Stop it!' she cried. 'God, I hate this version of you already!'

He laughed with glee and turned away, focusing his eyes back on the scorpion. 'Well we better go and have a closer look at this.' He said, and then winked at her. 'Come on then.' He bounded off back to the console room with Ashley close behind him.

He was already hauling various pieces of equipment out from under the console when Ashley caught up with him, the scorpion still dangling from his fingers. When she arrived by his side he thrust the creature out at her and said, 'Hold this for me, will you?'

Ashley grimaced and then took it, holding it away from her. 'What are you looking for?' she asked.

The Doctor beamed at her. 'My chemistry kit.' He replied. 'I know it's down here somewhere…' His face lit up suddenly. 'Ah there we go!' He steadied himself and then hauled out a large, metal box that landed on the floor with a hard _thud_. Ashley backed up a couple of steps.

'I didn't know you had that hidden away under there.'

'What, did you expect me to show you absolutely everything?' the Doctor replied, raising an unfamiliar eyebrow. 'Who are you, the Queen?'

Ashley frowned. 'No need to be sarky.' She muttered.

The Doctor opened the metal box and began pulling out various peculiar contraptions, none of which Ashley recognised. However she did recognise the scalpels when he pulled a handful of them out and dropped them on the floor. She glanced to the scorpion.

'Are you going to dissect it?' she asked.

'No, I'm going to bake it a pie and ask how its day was,' the Doctor replied, smartly. 'What do you think?'

Ashley stuck her tongue in her cheek, deciding that she liked this Doctor less and less with each passing moment. Keeping quiet was probably the best bet until he had finished whatever the hell it was he was doing, so she restrained herself from making a smart comment back. Apparently silence was all the Doctor wanted, and he flipped shut the box and began to rearrange the objects in front of him. Just as Ashley began to get bored and look away, his hand shot out and he clicked his fingers at her. She blinked at it. He looked up impatiently and clicked his fingers again. She realised he wanted the scorpion, so she handed it over.

'Thank you.' He muttered, and then lay it down on a silver sheet that looked a lot like a baking tray. 'Right, if you've got a weak stomach…' He paused, and then frowned. '-then you shouldn't be in the TARDIS in the first place.' He plucked one of the scalpels up, and made an incision down the centre of it creature's body. Ashley grimaced, but kept watching.

'Oooh… Oh look at this…' the Doctor cooed.

Ashley leaned over a little. 'What?'

'I think…' He pushed something small and sticky aside and narrowed his eyes. 'I think it might just be…' He trailed off. Ashley waited for him to speak again. About thirty seconds passed and she was about to ask him what he was going to say, when he suddenly bounced up onto his feet.

'Fantastic!' he cried, waving his hands. The scalpel clattered to the floor and Ashley recoiled about a full metre in alarm.

'What?' she cried. 'What is it?'

The Doctor hopped over the equipment – half of which he hadn't even used – and pulled her into a tight hug before proceeding to jump up and down. Ashley's chin bounced off his shoulder and waited in confusion for him to stop. Finally, he pushed her back, his hands clamped onto her shoulders.

'And _you_ didn't want to go on random!' he grinned.

'Doctor-' she began, but it felt strange calling this man the Doctor, even though now she was pretty sure it was him. 'I mean… I don't understand…'

'That,' the Doctor said grandly, pulling her to the scorpion and pointing at it. 'Is a Relapser. I should have known right away, I just didn't know what they looked like…'

'That means absolutely nothing.' Ashley shook her head. 'What's a Relapser?'

The Doctor moved away, obviously still buzzing with excitement. 'Apparently there are only forty-two in the whole universe. I always thought they were just a _myth_ but this… this proves it!' He whirled back to her, grabbing her arms again and grinning wildly. 'They're real, Ashley!'

'I'd love to be as excited as you,' Ashley replied. 'But I'm still in the lurch a bit.'

'Some people said that Relapser have the power to revive the dead.'

'You mean bring them back to life.'

The Doctor nodded keenly. 'And this… When it stung me it must have clung on to some cells that weren't wiped probably when I last regenerated and… and well, it pushed me back a generation. Basically, it's given me an extra life! And _extra life_, Ashley! Isn't that fantastic?' He shook her as he spoke, making her feel a little nauseous.

'Well… yeah, yeah course it is,' she replied unsurely. 'But… it sounds a bit, well… Is the word I'm looking for _unlikely_?'

'Why would it be unlikely?'

'I just… Surely if you're already alive then it can't bring you to life _again_ because you're already alive.' She paused and frowned at her last sentence. 'So then technically it wouldn't have any effect, if you know what I mean. It couldn't have been a very good regeneration last time if you still had old dead cells in your system.'

The Doctor waved his hand. 'It happens sometimes.' He turned and bent over the dead creature. 'I'm never going to badmouth a scorpion ever again.'

'I'm sorry,' Ashley shook her head. 'But I'm just finding this pretty hard to get my head around…'

'Don't worry about it,' the Doctor replied, tossing everything back in the metal box – along with the scorpion. 'You're only human.' He bounced back up to his feet. 'I'm _itching_ just to have a bit run around, aren't you? That's the thing about regeneration, feels like you've just woke up after a good nights sleep and some caffeine pumped straight into your system. Got to burn it off, you know?' He hopped around the console, pulling levers and jabbing buttons. 'Anywhere you fancy going? No? I think I know where we can go.'

Ashley winced. 'Don't you think maybe you should sit down for a while? I mean, there might be side effects.'

'Side effects?' The Doctor laughed. 'Pfft. I feel fantastic. Actually, I feel better than fantastic, I feel super fantastic.' He beamed again and set the TARDIS going. Ashley noted that it got going a lot quicker than usual and felt even more nervous. But there was nothing she could do now.


	5. Uncontrollable

**A/N: I just thought I'd quickly mention that this story will get a tad violent later, and there are some themes mentioned later that people might be a bit urgh with. Nothing major, I'm not planning on any Hostel moments or anything like that, but I'm better off saying now I suppose. Drastic change of direction from here though, it's not going to be as light as it has been. Sorry :P

* * *

**

**Chapter Five **

**Uncontrollable**

'I really think you should just rest a while. You know, just make sure that this is all that's going to happen. What if you regen… I mean, _de_generate again? Can you even do that outside the TARDIS?'

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders as he landed the TARDIS. 'I can, but I don't like to. It's like… Well, you wouldn't change your knickers in the middle of the street, would you?'

Ashley frowned slightly. 'Well no, but-'

'Then that's that.' The Doctor beamed. 'It's fine. Everything's fine. It's better than fine, it's-'

'Let me guess,' Ashley sighed. 'Super fine?'

He frowned slightly. 'I was going to say fantastic, but whatever you like.' He headed towards the doors, still with a skip in his step. He stopped and glanced back when he realised that Ashley wasn't following. 'Are you coming or what? Because I don't like waiting around.'

'I just…' Ashley sighed and trudged after him. 'I don't… I just don't think this is a good idea. I've got this horrible feeling, you know? I think you should go sit down for a bit, I'll get you a cup of tea and we'll wait to see if anything else happens. If not then we can go and do whatever the hell you like, but just for a little while.' She looked up at him solemnly. 'Please.'

The Doctor looked back at her for a moment, obviously itching to get outside but knowing that she was making sense. Finally he sighed and nodded. 'Okay, you win. We'll wait. Although there's absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm only doing this to keep your face straight.'

She smiled in relief. 'Thank you. Now go sit down. I'll get you a cup of tea and you can explain everything _without_ jumping around like a loon. Do you think you can do that?'

The Doctor pondered over it for a few seconds. 'I suppose.' He replied finally. He moved back into the console room and sat down heavily on the jump seats, causing the springs beneath them to compress and squeak noisily. He clasped his hands in his lap and swung his legs up to his feet rested on the edge of the console. He smiled at Ashley and nodded his head behind him. 'Go on then. Two sugars.'

Ashley glowered at him for a moment, and then went off to make the tea. The Doctor waited until she had gone, listened until her footsteps had faded away, and then hopped up off the jump seat and quickly vacated the TARDIS.

It was safe to say that when Ashley returned a couple of minutes later with a pot of tea and two mugs, she wasn't best pleased.

* * *

'Where the bloody hell have you been?' Ashley roared as the doors of the TARDIS opened and the Doctor sauntered in like he hadn't been missing for the past three hours. 'I've been worried sick!'

He looked at her and smiled. 'I went for a walk.' He replied.

Ashley stared at him incredulously. She had been pacing the console room the whole time he had been gone. She hadn't wanted to leave the TARDIS in case he came back and left with out her. She wouldn't have been surprised if that had happened, because frankly, it was an understatement to say that he had been acting strangely.

'You went for a walk.' She echoed flatly.

'Isn't that what I said?' the Doctor replied. His eyes lit up as he remembered something. 'Oh, and I got you a present because I had a feeling you would be annoyed when I got back.' He reached in the pocket of his leather jacket, and pulled out a flat, smooth orange pebble. He handed it to her, smiling broadly.

'What's this?' she asked, looking at the pebble in bewilderment.

'It's a mood stone.' The Doctor beamed. His smile faltered as the orange stone quickly turned black. 'Oh you are angry, aren't you?'

Ashley scowled at him. 'Did you really need a stone to tell you that? For God's sake, Doctor! What the hell were you thinking? What if something happened when you were out there? I wouldn't have been able to find you!'

The Doctor sighed. 'Since when have you been such a nag?'

'Since you turned into the frigging Rebel Without a Cause!'

'Well I'm back now. In one piece.' He moved towards the console and smiled at her. 'Where to next?'

Ashley just stared at him. 'You're serious, aren't you?'

The Doctor blinked. 'What? Serious about what?'

She shook her head. 'No way. I don't believe that you've _ever_ been this reckless. Even if you were another person. Take a look at yourself, Doctor! This isn't you at all!'

The Doctor's brown darkened for a moment in thought. 'I don't…' he paused, looking like he was battling with two inner thoughts. 'I just…'

Ashley moved forward and led him to the jump seats, sitting him down. He was still frowning in deep thought. 'Look, you need to rest.' She told him. 'We still don't understand what's happened to you. I don't want you carking out on me, okay?'

The Doctor nodded, but remained silent. Ashley regarded him for a moment, and then sat back. She wasn't going to make the mistake of leaving him alone this time.

'How are you feeling anyway?' she asked.

'A bit…' the Doctor's frown deepened. 'A bit… weird, actually. I know this isn't me. I know this isn't this regeneration of me… or _any_ to be perfectly honest but I…' He paused. 'I can't put my finger on what it is…'

Ashley eyed him warily. 'Do you want to have a lie down?'

He shook his head irritably. 'I'm just thinking…'

'I think you should just lie down.' Ashley went on. 'Maybe if you have a little nap then you'll wake up okay-'

'I said no!' The Doctor snapped suddenly, with so much venom in his voice that she actually stood up in alarm. He turned away again, muttering darkly. A strained silence hung in the air for a moment. Finally, the Doctor rose to his feet. 'I need to be alone for a little while.' He said distractedly.

Ashley began to follow him. 'I don't think that's really…'

He turned and glared at her, and she recoiled slightly. For the first time since meeting him, she found herself actually frightened of the Doctor. He wasn't himself at all, not just literally speaking. She strongly doubted that this version of him had been so sharp either.

For the first time in a long time, she wanted to go home.

* * *

The Doctor paced backwards and forwards in a room a couple of corridors away from where Ashley was waiting for him. His mind felt a total mess. Whenever he thought he might have the solution to what was happening to him, it slipped away from his grasp and he found himself having to figure out everything from scratch again. One thing he was sure of though was that there most definitely _were_ side effects from the sting of the Relapser, and not just the blatantly obvious one.

It was almost like his consciousness had split off into two parts. On the one hand all he wanted to do was travel and go out exploring, making the most of his new extra life by doing some of the more dangerous things on his 'To Do' list. However mingled with that urge to explore was a sudden impatience that he rarely exhibited. Impatience and irritation. Hell that standing lamp in the corner was getting on his nerves just by being there. He scowled angrily at it, and if lamps could move this one would likely have dived out of the nearest exit.

On the other side of his now split consciousness was his usual, rational self. However instead of being the most authoritative voice in the unorganised shambles of his mind, it was just a frantic chatter somewhere. Practically buried beneath the urge to go over and snap that lamp in two.

The Doctor closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists, pushing the urge aside and concentrating solely on the persistent, rational chatter in the back of his mind. It was a struggle, but he managed it.

Okay, so that was obviously the next side effect. The Relapser's poison was having some effect on his cognitive system. Some effect? That was an understatement. Now that rug was getting on his nerves. Actually, that little frantic voice was getting on his nerves. If only he could shut it the hell up…

No, if he did that then there was absolutely no hope for him. What he needed… He paused and listened to that little voice. He knew exactly what he needed. He needed this poison out of his system before it combined itself with his genetic structure and this sudden tetchy frame of mind became permanent.

But he couldn't concentrate on the plan that tried to unfold in his head. The urge to go over and snap that stupid floor lamp rose up too quickly for him to suppress and he charged towards it with his lip curled back. He picked it up and then slammed it back down into the floor repeatedly. Again and again, until there was nothing left but a pile of splintered wood and a destroyed lampshade. Still clutching a piece of the broken lamp, he stared down at the destruction.

_This is bad_, the frantic voice told him. _This is very, very bad. Tell Ashley now before you lose control completely._

The Doctor tossed the piece of wood down on the mess and then quickly left the room. He couldn't hang around now. There was no time.


	6. Cut Off

**Chapter Six **

**Cut Off**

Now Ashley was not the kind of person to upset easily. She wasn't unemotional or anything, she just didn't let things get to her as easily as other people did. Being yelled at would definitely not drive her to tears. Even if it were some huge sergeant major screaming obscenities in her face and raining spittle, she would probably just yell back until she lost her voice.

However, having someone she had grown quite close to in the past few months snapping irritably at her for no reason was enough to leave her snivelling on her bed with the door locked. She figured it wasn't just the snapping that had got to her, but the change in general. She hadn't agreed to get in the TARDIS with that rude Northerner. She wanted _her_ Doctor back. The funny, quirky one who was petrified of scorpions but laughed in the face of sixty-foot high cyborgs. Although she figured this Doctor also laughed in the face of sixty-foot high cyborgs, but it wasn't the same.

The old Doctor would never have yelled at her like that. No matter how stupid or annoying she had been.

Ashley wiped a hand over her nose, resulting in a rather unflattering wet sniffle noise, and she wiped that hand on her jeans. She wiped her eyes and tried to pull herself together. Who knows, she might get used to the new him. Maybe he was just being a bit weird because of the process he had been though. At one point he did say that he would act weird for a little while after the… whatever he called it. Degeneration.

Ashley didn't like that word. It had a lot of meanings.

She jumped when the handle on her door rattled. It was the Doctor obviously, but he couldn't get in because the door was locked. Ashley hopped off the bed and moved to the mirror, checking her face. Her eyes were all puffy and red.

'Ashley, open the door.' He sounded irritable.

'Just a minute.' Ashley replied, voice still wavering a little. She wiped her face again, but it didn't help. She didn't want him to see that she had been crying.

'Can you hurry up?' the unfamiliar voice demanded. 'I told you I hate waiting.'

'Well you're just going to have to hate it for a bit longer.' Ashley snapped back, louder than she had intended. 'I'm busy.'

She heard him sigh heavily, and then jumped when there was a bang on the door. She froze and listened. He was heading away down the corridor, feet stamping on the metal floor. It took her a moment to realise that he had either punched or kicked the door.

Now _that_ wasn't the Doctor at all.

She decided that she would keep the door locked. Just for a little longer.

* * *

The Doctor shoved the door to the console room open as hard as he could, teeth clenched. Adrenaline was surging through him – the kind of adrenaline that was usually reserved for those life or death moments when he was running for his life. He didn't know where it had come from, but when he had found Ashley's door locked he had suddenly gone from mildly panicked to downright angry.

As he sat down on the jump seat and cradled his head, he figured that it was probably a good idea that she had her door locked. He couldn't help but think about that lamp.

What was happening to him? This regeneration had been sometimes quite angry, sometimes short-tempered – but never violent. Never violent for no reason. Could it just be his body getting used to the change? Or was it something deeper? It must be the poison. It was changing him.

He decided that it would be for the best if Ashley did stay in her room. At least until he had figured out just what was happening to him. He didn't want to go back down to her room because one, he knew that she would insist on coming to help and two, he was afraid he would lose his temper again. With a sigh, he stood up and moved to the console. With the touch of a couple of buttons, he effectively sealed the door between him and the rest of the TARDIS. Then he picked up the speaker and tapped in the code for Ashley's room.

* * *

Ashley was perched on the edge of her bed, wondering whether or not she should go and look for the Doctor when there was a crackle of static and his voice sounded from above her. She jumped, for a moment thinking that he had unlocked the door himself, but then realised that it was a PA system. She frowned. He hadn't told her he had a PA system. Although it did make sense, taking the size of the TARDIS.

'I know what you're thinking,' the Doctor's strange new voice told her. 'You're wondering why I never told you I had a PA system. Well basically I know what you're like and you would want to play that god-awful music of yours into it. Sorry, but I'm not having that.'

Ashley smiled slightly. Now that was more like the old Doctor. She frowned slightly when he continued, noticing a strange sadness in his voice.

'Ashley, you were right. There are side effects. Something is happening to me and I'm not sure what it is. I've sealed off the rest of the TARDIS to the console room so I can try and get to the bottom of this, and I'd like you to stay exactly where you are until I tell you it's okay to come out.' He paused, considering something. 'If something goes wrong I'll… the TARDIS will take you home.'

There was a strange beeping sound, and then silence. Ashley sat where she was for a moment, frowning. Surely he would know that she wasn't going to stay in her room while he did whatever the heck it was he was doing! She wanted to know what was going on, and she wanted to know now.

She hadn't even stood up when the Doctor's voice returned.

'Seriously,' he said. 'Stay where you are. If you come down here I'm scared I might hurt you. Please, it's for your own safety.'

Ashley bit her lip in thought, but her decision was quickly made. She headed for the door, snatching up the metal baseball bat that she had gotten from an ex-boyfriend and what the Doctor had used a million years ago to bash an intruder around the head on the night they first met, and she unlocked the door of her bedroom.


	7. Blood

**A/N: BAD DOCTOR ALERT! lol... yah he gets kinda nasty. I don't know why but the thought of a nasty Doctor upsets me a bit... I suppose I should really sit myself down and write 'The Doctor is not real' a good couple of hundred times, but then if someone found it I might get sectioned... oh well :s

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**Chapter Seven **

**Blood**

The Doctor grimaced as he withdrew the syringe and peered at the dark red liquid that he had just drawn from his arm. It looked perfectly normal, but he knew that that didn't mean anything. He had turned the lights in the console room right down and had set up a small workstation on the control panel that consisted of a table lamp, a microscope, a few contraptions he had picked up from various planets and the dead scorpion. He adjusted the lamp again, and then picked up a glass slide. Carefully, he placed a dot of his blood on the slide and placed it under the microscope. He lay the syringe down, and peered into the lens.

* * *

Ashley stood on the other side of the console room door, her ear pressed against it. She still had the bat, but she knew that if the Doctor suddenly appeared she would feel very stupid indeed. And plus, did she really think she could hit him with it? Who was she trying to kid?

She hadn't heard anything for a little while and she contemplated knocking, but decided that probably wouldn't be the best idea. If he had told her to stay where she was, maybe she should have stayed where she was. But if something happened…

She got as far as raising her fist to the door before she bottled it and moved away. She tapped the bat against the side of her leg absently, and then quickly turned and headed back towards her room. She would sit it out another ten minutes or so. If she didn't hear anything from him, she would come back and this time she would definitely knock on the door.

She probably didn't think he knew she was there, but he did. And it had distracted him.

* * *

The Doctor stood in the middle of the console room, fists curled tightly by his sides. He had a good mind to head down there and tell her to mind her own damn business. Why couldn't she just do as she was told for once? Stupid humans can't even follow simple instructions. Why did he even keep her on board in the first place? Was he really _that_ lonely?

He shook his head and the thoughts reluctantly dissolved. He took in a deep breath, and then blew it out again slowly. She was just worried. She wanted to know what was going on. But keeping her out of the way was for her own safety. He would explain everything once he had figured it out.

The Doctor returned to his makeshift lab and sat back down, returning his eye to the microscope. He already knew what he was going to see. The poison was expanding in his blood, clinging to his blood cells. Obviously this alien cells had reached his brain, which would explain the sudden violent outbursts and irritability. He needed to wash them out of his system and he should return to normal.

Emphasis on the _should_.

But how was he going to clean it out of his system? Detox? Yeah just keep Ashley locked away for a few days while he kept himself calm by tearing up bits of paper and waiting for something to happen.

Although she could do with a bit alone time. He definitely could.

'Stop it.' He muttered. 'You're not giving into this. You're stronger than this.'

He zoomed in on his abnormal blood. He zoomed in too far and the slide cracked. The Doctor gritted his teeth and picked up the microscope, hurling it across the console room. It shattered against the domed wall but he missed the sight of it exploding because he had already picked up something else and was throwing that also.

After hurling most of the contents of the metal box across the room, including the scorpion, he managed to regain control of himself and sit back down. He cradled his head and wondered how he was going to go about this.

* * *

Ashley had heard the crashes coming from the console room, but she didn't approach the door. She stood in the doorway of her room, still gripping the bat and waiting to see what would happen next. There was silence for a long time. She wondered if he had hurt himself, but soon knew he hadn't when she heard his voice in the room behind her.

'The poison is in my bloodstream,' he told her glumly. 'Having the biggest effect on my anger, apparently. I'm not sure what I'm going to do because…' He was silent for a moment. 'I'm getting worse. The way the damn microphone feels in my hand just makes me want to smash it to pieces.' He stopped, and sighed. 'I don't know what…' He stopped again. 'I need your help, but I'm scared I'll hurt you. I don't know what to do, Ashley. I can't control myself.'

Ashley bit her lip too hard and she tasted blood. She felt so completely useless it actually felt like a weight on her back. He wanted – no, he _needed_ her, but unless she could get on the other side of that door there was no chance in hell of her getting there.

Sod it, she thought angrily, he wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't. He was the Doctor, for Christ's sake. He would lecture her for hours if she had accidentally stood on a snail. There's no way in Hell that he would turn on her for no reason.

Before she had a chance to go back on her decision, she left her room and hurried down towards the console room. She knocked loudly on the door.

'Doctor? Open up.'

There was silence for a moment. 'I told you to stay in your room.' His voice was quite low. So low that she could barely hear him.

'You also said you need my help. I'm here and I'm going to help if you like it or not. Now open this bloody door.'

A pause. 'No.'

'What? I'm sorry, but at this moment in time I don't understand the word _no._ Open the door, Doctor.'

'I can't do that.'

'Open the door!'

When he spoke again he was directly on the other side of the door, and his sudden change in volume made her flinch. 'I _can't_ open the door,' he told her angrily. 'Because I've just been sitting here thinking about pushing you out of the TARDIS doors and into one of the three suns of the Telooth System. Then I figured that would be a bit too much like hard work, so I thought I would just take that metal bat off you and smack you around the head with it a few times until you just stopped being so damn annoying!'

Ashley was lost for words. She looked down at the bat, and then finally mumbled. 'You can see me?'

'No, but I know you.'

She ran a hand through her hair. 'Look, I know what you're going through. That was what I felt like on the submarine. We've just switched roles. We managed to get through it before, this time should be just the same-'

'Don't be so naive.' The Doctor growled. She could hear him pacing on the other side of the door like a hungry tiger. 'You had gone completely loony. You weren't thinking straight. I, on the other hand, am thinking perfectly straight.'

'No, I thought it was all true before. Look, let me help-'

'The more you stand there talking the more I think that throwing you out will be a hell of a good idea, if not a bit fun! Now get back to your room, Ashley!'

Ashley scowled. 'No, I won't. Not until we've sorted this out.'

'This is your last warning.'

'I'm not leaving.'

There was no response from the other side of the door and for a moment Ashley just thought he had gone to sit down away from the door. Resorting to ignoring her. She was about to call on him again when the doors opened suddenly and there he stood, in all his unfamiliar glory. His face was set and solemn.

'Look, we can figure this out together,' Ashley told him, not really conscious of how tight she was holding the bat. 'You just need to sit down-'

He grabbed her before she had any time at all to react and the bat clattered noisily to the floor. She yelled out in alarm as he began to drag her across the console room. She noticed that it was much darker than usual, which did nothing to comfort her. She struggled against him but he was much stronger than her. She could have burned him quite easily, but she didn't want to do that. This wasn't him.

However she had to rethink that decision over when he pulled open the doors to the TARDIS and stuck her head out into the black void of space. Thankfully there were no suns, but the sheer emptiness didn't look much better.

'See?' the Doctor told her. 'See what happens when you don't do as you're told?'

Openly sobbing now, Ashley looked down into the emptiness below her. 'Don't, please… I'll go back to my room, I promise. I'll go back…' She screamed as he jerked her forward, but he kept a tight grip on the back of her shirt. '_Don't_!'

'You know what would happen to you if I let go?' the Doctor demanded. 'You'd suffocate. It would be excruciating. Your lungs would feel like they were being crushed. And then just when you think that the pain couldn't get any worse, you'd freeze solid. Now if you ask me, it's not the most comfortable way to go.'

Ashley wailed in terror. She couldn't even plead with him anymore.

'And do you know what would happen to me if I let go of you?' the Doctor went on, the agony obvious in his voice. 'I wouldn't be able to live with myself.'

Ashley suddenly felt herself being pulled back and for one confused moment she thought she was falling into space. Her lungs simply refused to work, but then she realised that he had pushed her back into the console room and she was lying on the metal floor. She managed to get to her feet quick enough though. The Doctor closed the doors and kept his back to her.

'I'm sorry… I…' He turned over his shoulder. He looked so torn. Whatever was doing this to him, it was destroying him. 'I can't control it anymore.' He admitted. 'You need to get away from me. Next time I won't be able to bring myself back from it.'

Ashley remained where she was. 'I can't leave you.' She sobbed, still trembling from her near expulsion from the TARDIS.

'Just… get out of here.'

'I won't!'

He turned, his expression darkening very quickly. He pointed to the door and yelled; '_Get out_!'

Ashley spun on her heels and ran back towards the safety on her room. She heard the door to the console room slam shut behind her but she didn't look back. She ran into her room, closed and locked the door, and then threw herself down on the bed and sobbed.


	8. Plans of Action

**A/N: Hope people are enjoying this, it's getting quite angsty isn't it? lol Tell you what I've just noticed though, I've been uploading the bloody unbeta-d chapters! I'm a right moose sometimes. This story seems short because there's not much dialog, and there are probably only three more chapters left. Anyways, enough of the blabbering...

* * *

**

**Chapter Eight **

**Plans of Action**

It was a good long while before Ashley finally managed to compose herself and stop the steady stream of tears. She sat up, clutching a cushion to her chest, and snivelled like a child. She had heard nothing from the Doctor – he said nothing on the PA system and she heard no movement from inside the console room. At one point she was pretty sure she felt movement and she was frightened to think where he was taking them. Maybe he was taking her back home?

She actually hoped he was.

A fresh bout of tears arrived when she thought about _her_ Doctor; the smiling, jovial, silly-haired Doctor who would never ever try to hurt her. It was hard to believe the man who had just almost thrown her into space was the same man who had saved her from the faceless man with the baseball bat, or the same man who had taken her for dinner on an asteroid, or the same man who she had walked in on watching Oprah Winfrey. He wasn't that man anymore. That version of him might as well be dead.

And without that Doctor, Ashley didn't want to be in the TARDIS anymore.

She wiped her nose and eyes and smoothed down her hair. It was strange to think that it was ending like this. She had no idea how long she had been with him now, but she knew it was a long time. If she had known that that barren planet had been her last stop in the TARDIS, she would have made the most of it.

Another sob crept up her throat but she fought it back. Composing herself, she got off the bed and began to pack her things away.

* * *

The Doctor was practically shaking, his hands trembling like frightened rabbits. He tried to trap them under his armpits, but the trembling just moved up his arms. He closed his eyes tight and gritted his teeth until one of them cracked painfully.

What had just happened? Had he really almost thrown Ashley out of the TARDIS? No, of course he hadn't. That would be insane. That would mean _he_ was insane. It was just a dream or something… although if that was the case it wasn't much better in proving his sanity.

He stood up from his seat and began to pace anxiously. Until he had singled out exactly what it was that was making him act this way, he had to keep Ashley back there and his temper under wraps. Keeping his temper under control was going to be easier now, as he had terrified himself beyond belief by what he had just done. If he was capable of that, what else could he do?

The Doctor picked up the PA system and pressed the button. He opened his mouth to speak, but found himself with nothing to say. He stood for a moment, unable to make a sound, and finally put the speaker back down. He looked across the console room until his eyes fell upon the scorpion lying on the floor.

It was all his fault. Ashley had told him not to set the TARDIS on random, but he had done so anyway. If he had just listened, maybe gone somewhere safe and quiet… But no, now not only had he degenerated in _form_, he had _become_ a degenerate. If only he could get back to who he had been…

He froze when the obvious thought hit him. He smacked his head with both hands and whirled around. 'Of _course_!' he cried. 'You _stupid_ moron! I can clear out the poison and I'll be…'

He stopped himself. Fair enough, in _theory_ that should work – but if the poison had the power to affect the regeneration process the way it had, who was to say that it couldn't _halt_ the process altogether? Or worse, he could degenerate again and perhaps his temper would get worse? There were too many factors to think about and his head was throbbing. He needed help; _Ashley's_ help, but he had a feeling she would probably be against being anywhere near him at the moment.

His hands were still trembling as he approached the doors leading down to the interior of the TARDIS. He paused, and then pushed open the door, and headed down the corridor.

* * *

Ashley stopped dead, a hooded jumper half stuffed in her suitcase. She could hear the Doctor approaching and the sound made her heart skip a beat. She waited and listened. The footsteps drew closer, and closer, and then quieter. It took Ashley a moment to realise that he had walked right by her room – not even slowing down when he did so. What was he up to?

Her curiosity got the better of her and she moved towards the door, careful to be as quiet as she could. Halfway to the door she stopped and frowned. She never imagined herself sneaking around in the TARDIS, afraid of getting in the Doctor's way.

Funny how people change.

She wished she had kept the bat with her now, but it was still (presumably) lying in the corridor from where she dropped it when… no, she wasn't going to think about that. It didn't happen. Couldn't have happened.

It _did_ happen, and she better keep it in mind.

With fingers that were trembling slightly, Ashley unlocked the door and opened it just a crack. She peered out, foot against her side of the door in case he was waiting outside, ready to barge in. She scolded herself for being so stupid, but she would take precautions anyway.

Tentatively, she opened the door more and stuck her head out. The corridor was deserted both ways. The door to the console room stood open, looking eerie with the turned down lights. The bat still lay on the floor not far from the shattered jar that she had caught the scorpion in what felt like an eternity ago, but was really just a few hours. She hesitated, casting a quick glance down the corridor, and then bolted towards the bat. She swept it up in her hands in one quick movement, and then ran back to her room and behind the protection of her door. She stayed there, breathing heavily, waiting for any signs or movements. There were none.

Just as she was about to step out again, she heard clattering from far down in the TARDIS. She froze, and then slipped out, closing the door gently behind her.

* * *

The whole of the Doctor's top half was inside the wooden trunk that had previously been bolted and padlocked and tucked away deep in one of the many closets of the TARDIS. He couldn't even remember why he had kept this box – perhaps he knew it would come in useful one day? No, that wasn't likely. He couldn't imagine himself ever thinking he would need anything out of that box, apart from now apparently…

His hand wrapped around the cold metal box and he pulled it out, sitting back in the surrounding junk he had thrown carelessly around. He sat and looked at the box for a long time, and wondered if he could actually go through with this. He traced his finger along the silver catch, not wanting to open the box.

Could he do this? It seemed like the only way, but what if it didn't work? What if he just got_ worse_? There were too many questions, too many risks.

The Doctor cocked his head when he heard a light thump somewhere down the corridor. Ashley had come out of her room, which was a huge surprise. He hadn't expected her to even attempt to leave after what he had done to her. He stood up, tucking the metal box under his arm, and stepped out into the corridor.

Ashley stopped dead at the sight of him and almost dropped the bat. She fumbled with it, cheeks flushing, and then held it up in front of her. The Doctor regarded her for a moment, and then pulled the door shut behind him. She flinched at the sound.

'What are you doing?' she asked in a trembling voice.

'Fixing everything.' He replied, not moving.

Ashley's eyes fell on the box. 'What's that?'

He said nothing and just continued to watch her. The silence was obviously making her very uncomfortable. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her skin was snow white apart from two spots of red high on her cheeks. He could feel her fear, and it sickened him that she was so frightened of him.

'Just…' He stopped. 'Go to the console room. If it goes wrong-' He stopped again, rubbing a hand over his head. He laughed humourlessly. 'Who'd have thought putting the TARDIS on random could have ended up like this, eh? Last time I'll be doing that, let me tell you. Or if I do then I'll be strapping on the Kevlar before I step outside.' He looked at her, tears in his eyes. 'I'm sorry, Ashley. I'm so sorry.'

Ashley shook her head, lowering the bat. Her eyes were filling up too as she took a tentative step forward. 'It's okay. I… Doctor I just want to help you. I want you back to normal. I want _my_ Doctor back. And then we can carry on, you know? Keep going. Pretend this never happened. I won't complain anymore, I promise. I…' She wiped at her eyes impatiently. 'I need you.'

The Doctor looked down at the box under his arm and took a moment to regather himself. He looked up again, wiped his nose, and nodded along the corridor. 'Go to the console room.' He told her.

Ashley deflated visibly. She didn't want to go to the console room on her own without knowing what was going on, but again she didn't want to risk another unprovoked attack. She backed up two steps. 'I will if you tell me what you're going to do.'

The Doctor could feel that anger creeping up again and he tried his best to suppress it. He gritted his teeth. 'Seriously, just go. Please.'

'I'm not going anywhere.' She replied sternly, although her tears betrayed her confident voice. 'And if you come at me again I won't hesitate to bat you around the head, okay? You know as well as I do that if I had to, I could stop you in your tracks.'

The Doctor laughed harshly. He hadn't meant to, but it just seemed to come from nowhere. It was almost like his mouth was responding before his brain had a chance to think. 'You think you're that special?' he shot at her. 'I've got a fire extinguisher back there that I could empty at you. You wouldn't stand a chance.' He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. 'No… no I'm sorry.'

'Please just tell me, Doctor! I know you want me to help! Let me help!'

'You want to know what's in the box?' he snarled suddenly, pulling it out from under his arm and moving forward quickly. 'Do you really want to be there when I do it?'

Ashley backed away as quickly as he approached, the bat rising in between them. 'Just calm down,' she said in a wavering voice. It turned into a whimper. 'Oh don't, _please_…'

The Doctor flicked the metal catch with his thumb and opened the box, pulling out the object inside and tossing the box over his shoulder. It clattered noisily on the floor. '_This_ is what was in the box,' he told her, waving the small black gun in his hand. 'You see it?'

Ashley's eyes widened. 'What are you doing with that?' she cried, horrified at the sight of the weapon. 'You… you _hate_ guns! Why do you have one?'

The Doctor looked at the gun, his eyes blazing. 'Funny story, actually… this actually belonged to Queen Victoria. Can't really recall exactly why I ended up with it to be honest with you… but as much as I detest the things I couldn't bring myself to throw it out. I was never planning on using it – in fact I actually tossed it in that box and then put it in a crate. Probably would never have seen the light of day again if this hadn't happened. Seems like the easiest option, taking I've never been good with nooses and it would be too risky going out and looking for trouble, because, well… it only seems to be when you're not looking for trouble when you find it…'

Ashley was staring at him. 'What… Doctor, what are you talking about?'

The Doctor put the gun to the side of his head, causing her to yelp. 'Bang bang.' He said with a frightening grin. 'Only way to get myself back to normal.' He pointed the gun at her, eyes still brimming with tears – although now they were more like tears of anger. 'Now do as you're told. That's it, run along.'

Ashley backed up a step. 'You can't be serious!'

'I'm the Doctor, I'm always serious. Now get into that console room, or I'll drag you there myself.'

Ashley stared at him, frantically trying to figure out how everything had gotten to this point. She shook her head and opened her mouth to say once again that he couldn't be serious, when the floor and walls around them shook suddenly. Ashley dropped the bat in alarm and leaned against the wall. The Doctor looked around, snapping out of whatever had held him in such an angry frame of mind, and lowered the gun.

'What the heck is that?' he mumbled, and then ran down the corridor towards the console room as if he hadn't just been pointing a gun right at Ashley. The TARDIS shook and rumbled again. Ashley swallowed down her fear and followed the Doctor, wondering if things could actually get any worse.


	9. Keep On Coming

**Chapter Nine **

**Keep On Coming**

For a moment everything seemed to return to normal. The TARDIS was dipping and diving, shuddering every time it was hit from whatever had decided to wage war on the blue box. The console sparked, black smoke billowing from somewhere beneath it. The Doctor scrambled around it, pulling levers and kicking buttons. If it wasn't for his unfamiliar appearance and the gun still in his hand, Ashley could have sworn that the last few hours hadn't happened at all.

'What's happening?' she cried, clutching onto the doorframe as the TARDIS rocked around.

She was ignored. The Doctor grunted and muttered to himself as he tried to regain control. His forehead was dotted with beads of sweat, his eyes wide and frantic. Despite needing both hands, he still refused to let go of the weapon. He used it to bash a flat grey panel and the TARDIS dipped like an ancient roller coaster.

'_Doctor_!' Ashley yelled over the thuds and bangs from outside.

'We're being _attacked_!' he told her, not looking around.

'By who?' Her voice hit a strange high note as she was nearly thrown to the floor, but she managed to keep herself upright.

'Who do you think?' he snarled. 'Who's been chasing us around – sorry, _you_ around since you stepped foot onboard?'

Ashley frowned. 'The bounty hunters? _Crowe's_ bounty hunters?'

'Well done!' the Doctor cried. 'For a minute there I was starting to think you were completely brain dead!' He snapped back a lever and the TARDIS lurched again. At one point he would have warned her to hold on, but he didn't bother. She lost her grip on the doorframe and went to the floor, banging her head. She saw a flash and the pain shot through her temples. With a groan she struggled to right herself, not surprised at the feeling of warm blood running between her eyebrows.

The Doctor steadied himself in front of the screen on the console and grabbed it with both hands. His face seemed to pale and he frowned. 'No… no it can't be…'

'What?' Ashley pulled herself to her feet and stumbled towards him. 'What is it?'

'There's a whole damn _fleet_!' he roared. 'We can't outrun them! We can't get away this time!'

Ashley looked at the screen but before she could even attempt to make sense of the circles and shapes there was another impact and she fell back onto the jump seats. 'Well you have to do something!' she cried, wiping the cut on her head and smudging blood across her face.

The Doctor ignored her and ran around the console again. The TARDIS began to dip like an elevator going down far too fast. Ashley gripped onto the seats beneath her, battling the sickness rising up from her stomach.

'Are we getting away?' she asked, head lolling with the fast movements.

'No, we're landing.' The Doctor replied.

Ashley gaped at him. 'What!?'

'I don't know why I didn't do it the first time. Did I think they would just stop coming? No, they'll keep coming for you. Just keep coming and coming until you're either dead or I'm dead.' He turned and glared at her over the console and she could see that whatever had changed him had taken over completely. There wasn't a single glimmer of empathy or sorrow in his eyes; it was all anger. 'Your kind are scum anyway.'

The TARDIS thumped down. The Doctor hadn't been expecting it, so he lost his grip on the console and fell back. The gun slipped from his hand and skittered across the floor towards Ashley. She dove for it, snatching it up and then moved quickly out of his reach.

'This isn't you!' she yelled at him. 'I don't believe that you'd do this, Doctor! Not _ever_! That bloody scorpion… it's destroying you!'

He got to his feet, brow deeply furrowed. 'You're not going to shoot me.' He told her.

Ashley looked at the gun in her hands. She was shaking uncontrollably. She jumped as something thumped on the TARDIS doors, but looked quickly back to the Doctor, knowing that whoever it was wouldn't be able to get inside without a key. They could even nuke those doors and they wouldn't open. She raised the gun and pointed it at him.

'You… you were going to do it anyway, weren't you?' she cried, tears streaming down her face. 'So you'd regenerate, right? Then when you regenerated the poison would wipe out your system and you'd be back to normal? That's what would happen, right?'

The Doctor half grinned. 'Doesn't matter anymore.' He told her. 'Put that down.'

She backed up, stumbling over her feet. He advanced quickly, but she regained her balance and pointed the gun at him again causing him to stop. She let out a sob and shook her head. 'How did this happen?' she asked. 'It's not supposed to be like this.'

There was a flash of sorrow on the Doctor's face and he tilted his head. Something thudded against the doors again and the look quickly evaporated. 'You're not going to shoot me, Ashley.' He said, moving towards her.

She tried to back away but found herself restricted by the metal barrier. Before she had any idea what had happened, the Doctor had grabbed her hair in one hand and was trying to pull the gun out of her grasp. She screamed at him, kicking out with both legs. He grunted as her foot collided with his shin, but his grip didn't loosen. The panic was too much for Ashley to control. She felt her hands getting hot before she could stop them and she could almost see what was going to happen next.

'_No!'_ she screamed, but the heat triggered the gun and it went off with an unbelievably loud _bang_. Everything seemed to stop. The TARDIS grew silent. There were no sounds from outside. Both the Doctor and Ashley became very still and they stared at each other in shock. The gun clattered to the floor.


	10. Everything Dies

**Chapter Ten**

**Everything Dies**

Ashley stared in horror as the Doctor's eyes slowly rolled back. He suddenly felt very heavy against her. She couldn't hold his weight and her knees buckled. He fell with her, but she managed to keep hold of him to prevent him from hitting the floor too hard. She forced her eyes to look down to his stomach where his black jumper was slowly turning wet and glittery. She put her hand on it and gasped at the red blood on her fingers.

'Oh god… oh no…' She lay him down gently and put her hands on his face, leaving a bloody smear on his cheek. 'Doctor! Doctor can you hear me? Oh god I'm so sorry! I didn't…' A bout of tears escaped her and she moaned loudly. 'Doctor wake up!'

His eyelids were half closed, but they flickered open and he glanced around in bewilderment. 'What…' He felt the pain and let out a cry, trying to put his hands to his stomach. 'Oh… oh that _hurts_!'

'Just keep still!' Ashley told him, her words barely understandable through her sobs. 'Don't move, okay? I'll…' She glanced around and remembered the first aid kit beneath the console. She scrambled to her feet and went to fetch it, stumbling twice. 'We still have the first aid kit!' she cried, rummaging frantically around under the console. 'I can stop the bleeding! I can and… and you'll be okay, okay? We can fix it, okay? You'll be fine…' Her hands landed on the green zip-up bag and she pulled it out with too much force, sending herself back on her bottom. She crawled back to the Doctor.

'Just… just leave me…' he told her, grimacing with the pain. 'God I forgot how much it hurts to get shot…'

Ashley fumbled with the zip, tears hindering her vision. 'I… I need to put pressure on it, don't I? And then bandage it up… But… but if the bullet is still in…' She gave a short frustrated scream. 'I don't know what to do! I can't-'

The Doctor's hand grabbed hers and she looked to him in alarm. His face was white apart from the bloody smear on his cheek. 'Leave me.' He told her, sternly. 'It'll be okay…' He trailed off and grunted, turning his head and gritting his teeth. 'This is why I _hate_ guns!'

Ashley held his hands with both of hers. 'You're going to regenerate, right? Back into you… I mean… the _old_ you. You'll change, right? And then everything will be back to normal and-' She finished with a shriek as something thudded against the doors of the TARDIS.

The Doctor turned his head back to her. 'Ashley… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't… this is all my fault, I-'

'No, you shut up.' She snapped. 'Don't say anything. It doesn't matter. It's over now, everything is going to be fine. It's all-'

There was another thud on the door, louder this time. The TARDIS jerked suddenly.

'_Just sod off_!' Ashley roared at the doors, and then turned back to the Doctor with a broken smile. 'It's all okay now.'

He shook his head. 'It's not I…' He winced. 'Something's wrong.'

'What? What's wrong?'

'I… I should be…' He gasped and looked up at the ceiling. 'I don't think it's going to happen… I can't feel anything…'

'It might just be taking a while,' Ashley told him desperately, more for herself than to console him. 'The poison might just be delaying it. You said it would work!'

He shook his head, eyelids drooping again. 'I just can't feel…'

'What? Can't feel what?'

'Anything…' His voice was barely audible. His rigid body weakened and he went limp. A long, slow breath escaped his lips, and his eyes closed.

Ashley stared at him, clutching his hand. She looked down at his stomach and saw how much blood he had lost. It soaked the right leg of her jeans and was dripping down the gaps in the floor. 'Doctor?' she said, unable to summon a strong voice. She gripped his hand and squeezed. 'Doctor?' When he didn't move, she grabbed his shoulders and shook him. 'Doctor! Regenerate! You can do it! Please, you have to do it!' She cried out in anguish and thumped her fist down on his chest. 'Don't leave me! Please!'

He didn't move. The thudding resumed on the TARDIS doors. Ashley sat back, running her hands through her hair and looking at the motionless Doctor, panic-stricken. She grasped for his neck, feeling for a pulse.

Nothing.

'Doctor!' she wailed. 'Doctor, please!'

Behind her the TARDIS hummed, louder than usual. She turned and looked at it, and then scrambled to her feet and ran to the console. She began to thump buttons and pull levers, but nothing was happening.

'_Do something_!' she screamed at it. '_Help him_!'

It continued to hum, doing nothing. She sobbed loudly, her panic no longer able to fuel her violence towards the console. She dropped to her knees, clutching onto the side of it, and thumped her head against the edge.

The Doctor was gone. The TARDIS couldn't help her.

She was alone.

* * *

**A/N: :o **

**My computer is going craaazy, so I'm going to try and get this story finished today before it claps out on me completely, so if I vanish completely at some point it means my computer is broken. Again. Which is just bloody fantastic. Hopefully it'll stay alive if I don't turn it off. Like, ever. Anyway... yes... Doktor iz ded :o  
**


	11. That Familiar Face

**Chapter Eleven**

**That Familiar Face**

The thumping had stopped a while ago, but Ashley had lost track of time. She knew it had been a while since she had managed to stop crying, and she had been crying for a long time. She sat against the console, knees tucked up to her chest, and looked at the man lying motionless on the floor. Behind her, the TARDIS hummed. It seemed quieter now, and the console room seemed darker. Almost like it was turning itself off.

Would make sense. The Doctor dies – the TARDIS dies.

It pretty much left her in the lurch. She could risk going outside and facing whoever had been trying to kick the door down for so long, but by the sounds of it – and the feel of it, the TARDIS had been loaded onto one of their ships. She would step out there and probably be face to face with Timothy Crowe.

Maybe it was inevitable now? Perhaps it had always been inevitable.

Ashley closed her eyes. No, she couldn't just leave the Doctor and the TARDIS behind to become nothing. She refused to believe something so magnificent, and some_one_ so magnificent, could come to an end so quickly. To just… stop.

But it had happened. She had killed the Doctor. She had practically committed genocide. Ashley Chambers, an ex-barmaid from a crappy town on Earth had just killed the last Time Lord in existence.

She put her hands to her face but didn't cry. She couldn't cry anymore.

After a moment, she stood up and moved towards the Doctor. She stood over him for and regarded him. His unfamiliar short hair, his strange face. She wished that she could have seen her Doctor one last time. She wished she could have apologised, and thanked him. It might have ended badly, but he had shown her things she would never have _dreamed_ of seeing. He hadn't just shown her the universe, he had shown her how to live.

Well, until she killed him.

She knelt down, feeling fresh tears on her cheeks, and gently put his arms by his sides. She looked at him for a moment longer, and then leaned forward, kissing him on his forehead. She wanted to say something, have something _important _to say to him. Something meaningful. But as usual, she had nothing. Nothing intelligent, important or meaningful. He could have just left her after that incident on the submarine. He should have seen this coming.

Ashley wiped her eyes and stood up, turning her gaze towards the doors. Without a word, she headed towards them, brushing her hair back from her face. She put her hand on the catch, and closed her eyes to brace herself for what waited on the other side.

The lights in the TARDIS suddenly grew brighter like floodlights coming on. Ashley looked around, squinting through the sudden brightness. The blue column was glowing magnificently. It began to hum loudly, and everything around her seemed to be vibrating. Ashley's eyes widened and her mouth opened as everything started to come back to life – the actual console seemed to _glow_. She had never seen it like this in her whole time of travelling with the Doctor, but she knew what was happening.

'Yes!' she cried, bounding forward. 'Yes! Go on, you can do it!'

She looked to the Doctor, her heart practically leaping up her throat as she saw his hands and face begin to shine. It was beautiful; a stunning, glittering orange light. It seemed to be running through his veins. The TARDIS's hum had upped itself to a low roar. Ashley started towards the Doctor, but then the glowing veins brightened into a blinding orange light. Dazzled, she stumbled back into the coral beam behind her and shielded her eyes. She could feel the warmth all around her and her ears were filled with the sounds of the TARDIS and another, deeper sound that she couldn't quite distinguish. It lasted for a few seconds, and then the light vanished.

Ashley blinked away the glaring spots and stumbled towards the Doctor. She dropped beside him and almost screamed with relief when she saw that familiar face. She grabbed his hand, once again crying.

'I knew you could do it!' she cried. 'I _knew_ you could!'

He didn't move. His continued state of motionless made that relief wash away again and she frowned deeply. But before she could start to panic again, his eyes shot open and he drew in a long, heavy breath, grabbing her arms and shoulders. She cried out in alarm, but got a hold of him.

'It's okay!' she told him, laughing and crying at the same time. 'You're okay!'

The Doctor looked around with wide, confused eyes. Finally, his gaze fell on her and he blinked, his skin still practically white. He gawped at her, and then gasped again. Ashley laughed shrilly and pulled him into a tight hug. She squeezed him, unaware of just how tightly she was squeezing him, and sobbed into his shoulder. 'I thought you were gone!' she wailed. 'I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!'

'You know what we need?' the Doctor said as she let go of him. 'Party poppers.'

Ashley helped him to sit up and frowned in confusion. 'What?'

He nodded, eyes still taking in everything at once. 'Yup, party poppers. And balloons. And canapés. And then we can go out there and throw her one hell of a party, yup a party she'll never forget.'

Ashley frowned. 'Um… what?'

The Doctor got to his feet, looking strange in the black jumper and leather jacket that were too big for him. He stumbled a little, and then blinked. 'Maybe a nice turtle neck… nah, it's a bit hot for that.'

Ashley stared at him warily, not sure what was happening. 'Um… Doctor, what are you…?'

'Party hats!' he cried suddenly. 'Everyone needs party hats! And lucky bags! Oooh we can put the party poppers in the lucky bags! It'll be fantastic!'

'Doctor!' Ashley yelled, the stress of everything still heavy on her shoulders. 'What are you talking about?'

He looked at her like she were mad and stuck his hands out. 'It's Cleo's birthday!' he cried. 'You haven't forgotten Cleopatra's birthday, have you? She won't be happy with that.'

He bounded past her towards the doors, still stumbling like a drunk. Ashley watched him in confusion for a moment, until she realised he was heading for the doors. She ran after him.

'No! Don't open the doors!' she cried.

The Doctor hauled them open, ignoring her, and dived out. He threw his hands up in the air. 'Happy birthday!' he yelled to the lines of armed soldiers who were waiting on the other side and then his eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

Ashley ran out after him, kneeling beside him to check he was okay. She glanced around at the armed soldiers, and then looked around at her surroundings. The room was large and the ceiling high, with dusty strip lights running in rows. About three-dozen soldiers stood with their large guns trained on her and the Doctor. She recognised their uniforms, and knew immediately that they were Zed-Heads.

Slow, sharp clapping suddenly interrupted the silence, and the soldiers began to part. Ashley scowled and watched as a figure emerged between the men. He looked just like he had done before, smart suit, broad grin – only one side of his face was scarred and nothing more than a layer of pink skin over his skull and jaw.

'Wonderful entrance,' Timothy Crowe beamed. 'I don't think I could have done better myself.' He smiled warmly, but his eyes were like two shards of ice. 'Now, how about we go and have a nice chat? You can walk along with me, or I can have my men shoot you in the legs and I'll drag you along. You'll walk? Brilliant.' He held an arm out to her. 'We have a lot to catch up on.'

**TBC...**

* * *

**A/N:** **WHOOO PARTAY! The Doctor loves a good party, hence his poor regenerated head thinking it's time for a party when it really isn't... Anywho, I hope you enjoyed that one. It was a lot like Into The Deep, just a bit more... urm... psycho? Hmm, something like that anyway. **

**Oh mah gad I can't believe I've only one one more story of this series left! Whooo it only seems like yesterday I was sitting finishing off episode 4 and thinking I'll never get to episode 13 xD Well as always, thank you to everyone who has been reading/reviewing or just enjoying my stories! Makes me very happy, yup yup. So... finale next :o Now you can find out what big secret the Doctor has been hiding all this time (and hopefully he's realised it's not Cleopatra's birthday P:) I'd give you the title but... well, I'm not. Because I haven't decided on it yet LOL!  
**


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